I was tired of my Olympus XA rangefinder film camera getting stuck so that the film would not advance and the shutter would not fire. I have used it for a long while and really enjoyed a "small shooter" I could pop out at any time and snap a quick candid. This camera is not as unobtrusive as the XA because it has no viewfinder (only the screen) meaning I have to stand there with my arms out staring at the screen and looking a lot more conspicuous. I also lost the three-point stabilization of two hands + face that helped hold the camera steady.
Having said all that, I am very glad I bought this. The photo quality is nice ISO 200 or lower and reasonable up to 400. Compared to a film camera not so good but to other digitals in the same genre I find that it excels. The menu system is so intuitive as to make the manual unneeded for standard shooting (read it anyway -- there are a lot of amazing features available).
The Leica-branded optics are excellent... I have seen very little flair, almost no falloff or vignetting, and no CA (at low ISO). The camera gets noisy quick at 400 and images shot at 800 or higher are not usable unless you just want something to prove you took a picture. This was never my requirement and my intent is to use this camera until a decent, pocket-able DSLR becomes available and affordable (Micro Four Thirds, I would guess, but even the current generation is not quite ready for prime time) or until I am willing to spring for a Leica D-Lux or something comparable.
In the meantime, I find this camera a ready and able street-shooter. The biggest pluses I can mention are:
--Rapid shutter. You push, it shoots. Push again, it shoots again. The shutter release is VERY responsive, one of the biggest problems with most compact digitals.
--Flash is a fill flash. No harsh shadows.
--Image Stabilization. Compensates for the hand shake with a compact.
--Small, light, and unobtrusive. Fits nicely in a shirt pocket or a cell-style belt pouch.
--Extremely well designed and intuitive menu system
--Full manual control over exposure and aperture with an excellent TTL meter. This is rarely available on a compact and makes the term "point and shoot" invalid when applied to this camera, though it can be used that way.
--Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes, as well as Program AE.
--Extremely accurate auto-focus
--Auto-focus is FAST
--Depth of field is displayed right on the screen (e.g. 1.5f to 35ft)
--Auto-focus is easily adjusted shot-by-shot if desired...just touch the AF point on the screen
--Extra wide-angle lens perfect for landscapes and large groups.
--Optical zoom with the ability to completely disable so-called "digital zoom". In fact, it was disabled by default on my unit.
--Battery life is so long as to obviate the need for a spare (but I still have one). I shoot for 10 days or so without recharging and the battery has never been dead yet. Caveat: I almost never use a flash.
--JPEG engine seems to produce high quality files that are not overly large despite the high megapixel count
Cons:
--It is a compact digital, no viewfinder
--So-so image quality at ISO 400, noisy at 800 and useless at 1600. These are not a concern for me. The image stabilization has allowed me to shoot at the lower ISO speeds with a slower shutter speed and not see any motion blur (or only background subject motion, not camera shake).
Overall, I find this to be an outstanding camera compared with ANY compact digital. I highly recommend this camera.
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This Item  Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500K 10.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $299.99 | $139.22 | $899.99 | $479.99 | $473.00 | $1,298.00 |
| Delivery | Get it May 16 - 24 | — | Get it May 16 - 24 | — | — | — |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Zoom | ||||||
| Image stabilization | ||||||
| Picture quality | ||||||
| Sold By | EnviroCycle | Amazon.com | EnviroCycle | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
| display type | LCD display | — | — | LCD | LCD | LCD |
| display size | 3 inches | 2.5 inches | 2.5 inches | 3 inches | 3 inches | 3 inches |
| lens type | fixed | Zoom, Wide Angle | Zoom, Wide Angle | zoom | Wide Angle | Telephoto |
| zoom type | Optical Zoom | Optical Zoom | Optical, Digital | Optical Zoom | Digital Zoom | — |
| shooting modes | Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Self-Portrait, Food, Party, Candle Light, Fireworks, Starry Sky, Beach, Aerial Photo, Snow, High Sensitivity, Baby 1&2, Sunset, Pet, Hi-Speed Burst | Landscape, Automatic, Portrait | Scene, Automatic, Macro | P, M, Tv, Hybrid Auto, Auto, Standard, Vivid, Neutral, B/W, Sepia, Video Snapshot, Food | Auto; intelligent auto; superior auto; program auto; aperture priority; shutter speed priority; manual exposure; memory recall 1,2; movie mode; sweep panorama; scene selection | Auto, Program auto, Aperture priority, Shutter speed priority, Manual exposure, Memory recall, Movie mode, HFR mode, Panorama, Scene selection |
| connectivity tech | USB | USB | HDMI | Wireless | HDMI D (Micro), USB Micro-B (USB 2.0) | 3.5mm Microphone, HDMI D (Micro), USB Micro-B (USB 2.0) |
| video resolution | 1280 x 720, 30 fps, 848 x 480, 30 fps, 640 x 480, 30 fps, 320 x 240, 30 fps | 848 x 480, 30 fps, 640 x 480, 30 fps, 320 x 240, 30 fps | 848 x 480, 30 fps, 640 x 480, 30 fps, 320 x 240, 30 fps | FHD 1080p | 4K UHD 2160p, 4K UHD 2160p | 4K UHD 2160p |
| optical zoom | — | — | 10 multiplier x | 40 multiplier x | 30 multiplier x | 8 multiplier x |
Reviews with images
Excellent at it strengths, good even at it's weaknesses
First of all, I can't comment much on the value for the money, since my purchase was based solely on features and I was willing to pay for them. I searched for 6 months for a camera that met my requirements (in this order).Must Haves:-fast first picture from 'off' state-good low light pictures (as good as a compact anyway)-small enough to fit in pocket (for bars, parties, etc)-HD Video-7MP or moreNice to have:-manual photo options-Zoom while video record-.avi video recording-4x zoom or moreI was originally going to purchase the TZ5, but this model's manual options and smaller size won me over. For my purposes, giving up the 10x optical zoom was well worth it.PROS:-excellent (amazing) "Auto Ai" mode: It's truly point-and-shoot if you want it to be-image stabilization 'mode 2' works very well to reduce blur-about 1.25 second to first pic from off (about 2 sec with flash)-battery life (second only to the Casios that I've purchased for friends and family)-low-light pictures: if you set the correct scene mode, you can get a very decent picrture without flash - better thatn any other compact digitals I've seen.-great video quality: 720p .MOV format is compatible with iMovie and looks great on a 42" 1080P LCD TV on a computer (you'll need to pay extra for the cable that goes directly from the camera to the TV)-25mmm wide-angle is surprisingly useful, but you have to remember to zoom slightly if you don't want a slight 'fisheye' view.-there is a 'quick menu' that gives you 2-button access to all the most often used functions (they change with each mode)-one touch access to self-timer (great for quick self-portraits)CONS:-no zoom while video recording (TZ5 only as far as I know)-sometimes it's unclear whether to use touchscreen or the joystick (I think anywhere that uses the touch should also be able to use the joystick)-flash pics are about 6 seconds shot-to-shot (with 2/3 battery on full iA mode with double red-eye reduction flash)MINOR ANNOYANCES:-the LCD turns off after a some flash pictures for 1.5 sec or so (I suppose to help the flash recharge more quickly)-tripod mount is to far left of body: bad for tiny portable tripods, but placement allows you to change battery/card without disconnecting tripod-USB cable is not a (current-standard) mini-USB on the camera end. This may be a plus later on as more phones and cameras use micro-USBSUMMARY:This is the best camera available for my requirements, and an excellent overall compact. It has the best low-light pictures (with defeated flash) that I've seen on a digital compact (aside from the old, old Fujis). It's the first camera that I've been truely comfortable setting on 'auto' and knowing I will almost always get a good picture.If you want a pocket-sized camera that you can just whip out at an event and be assured of a good picture or take a great looking video clip, while retaining the ability to do some limited manual exposures, this is the one for you.
